


Bow and Arrow

by littlegirl28



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Historical, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst with a Happy Ending, Archery, Cheesy, Death Threats, Feelings Realization, Friends to Lovers, Historical References, I'm Sorry, Kim Mingyu is Whipped, Light Angst, M/M, Mention of blood, Mention of claustrophobia, Pendants, READ THE END NOTE PLS, Reincarnation, Unresolved Romantic Tension, mentions of physical trauma, slight wonhui
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-04
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:33:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 20,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27957701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlegirl28/pseuds/littlegirl28
Summary: "A bow always comes with an arrow, Mingyu. And this is your bow. Someday, you'll find the arrow, and your life will be complete."That's what his mother had told him, when he turned ten, as she gifted him the golden bow shaped pendant. It looked very pretty under the moonlight that time, polished brand new but it felt ancient, like it has been existing for more than a thousand years.Since then, he had kept the pendant in a chain, close to him, until he could understand what his mother had meant.
Relationships: Kim Mingyu/Xu Ming Hao | The8
Comments: 23
Kudos: 42





	1. Pretty Knights

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi! welcome to my first ever chaptered fic:)  
> i hope you'll enjoy!

_626, Seorabeol, Kingdom of Silla._

"We'll arrive at Silla tomorrow morning, so get some sleep" Junhui told him that night.

"How long again we'll stay there?" Minghao asked back. They've been travelling long enough, it would be a shame if they didn't stay for as long.

"I don't know. Could be a couple of years, or more" The older governor answered.

"Well, that's long enough" He nodded. He had hoped to be able to learn a lots of stuffs from his visit.

"It actually depends on the situation there" The taller of the two said, preparing their sleeping spaces. "Silla has been having attacks from the neighbouring kingdom since the last king decided to unite the land."

"Unite the land?" Minghao questioned. _How did that included attacks?_

"By attacking them, yes" The older governor had lied down on his mattress, and began closing his eyes. "Get some sleep, Hao. A lot of people to meet tomorrow."

At the mention of people, Minghao rolled his eyes and rested his back on his own mattress. Well, meeting people weren't always bad, he reminded himself. He met Jun, and the other governors. He just has to pass through the probably awkward first meetings, and then learn everything he has to know from the country. It wasn't his original idea to spend his youth outside China, but the emperor had chosen him, so here he was, as one of the delegates, in a mission to strengthen the bond between Tang Dynasty and Silla.

The next morning, they arrived at the border. The capital, Seorabeol is protected by tall stone walls, on each and every side. The walls separated the commoners, and the nobles side of the country. The castes system in Silla was probably the most complicated aristocrat system he's ever learned. It was called the 'Bone Rank' system and they divided the citizens into 8 different castes, including 2 highest that were called _Seon-geol_ (Sacred Bone) and _Jin-geol_ (True Bones). Even then, the nobles had another 17 different ranks that decided which position they could take in the government. The lesser their rank, the lower the position got. He knew he should've declined when the emperor asked him to come as his delegates. But how could he? No one ever said no to Emperor Taizong before. He's a great and kind leader, but remembering how he got the reign, Minghao wouldn't want argue a lot. Besides, he loved travelling, and sightseeing. He didn't get much of that back then in China.

As they passed the walls, Minghao examined his surroundings. He appreciated the beauty of the nature, but couldn't help but notice some damages here and there. Junhui had told him about the feud between Silla and its neighbouring kingdom Baekje, how the once peaceful bond (although not very peaceful he was also told) was broken because the past King Jinheung launched an attack in a vision of uniting the land. Silla had been the weakest of the three, Baekje and Goguryeo, and Jinheung did not want his kingdom to be the one who got crushed by other reigns when they decided to unite lands. He started his military expansion first, and attacked Goguryeo in alliance with Baekje. Then after succeeding, the king made another secret pact with Goguryeo and attacked Baekje. Smart, Minghao thought. And cruel, of course. _But how else were you going to unite three kingdoms?_

After looking at the last fort that's being rebuild after the last attack, Minghao began to see the outline of the palace. It was huge, of course, and dominated with red and gold, the colour of _Seon-geol_. Trees with pretty flowers decorated the side walks, the galloping steps of their horses were smooth against the road as their carriage stopped at the gates. They've arrived.

"You ready?" Junhui asked beside him.

"Of course" Minghao nodded. He plastered a smile on his face, and opened the door for both of them.

"Let's go and meet the pretty knights!"

Hwarang.

Only here, in Silla, there's a squad of beautiful men, able to elegantly recite poetry _while_ gracefully stabbing their enemies to death. When Minghao walked down the path to greet the king that's waiting for him at the top of the stairs, hundreds of men lined up to his left and right. Their standard silk uniform perfectly adorned the ethereal swan feathers hat, that swayed as the wind blew. 

One Hwarang, the tallest one who stood near the edge of the stairs looked directly at him. He had a petal of the fallen pink flower perched on his shoulder, a contrast to his dark blue fit and the quiver of arrows on his back. The handsome man offered him a polite smile, the sort of encouragement Minghao needed which he returned before averting his attention at King Jinpyeong. 

The pride of Silla, they said. The flowering knights. _Hwarang_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> soo how was that for a first chapter?  
> not much i know, but more will be revealed on the next chapter, so wait out! 
> 
> in the meantime, talk to me on [twt](http://twitter.com/littlegirl286) or [cc](https://curiouscat.qa/littlegirl28) :)


	2. Arrows

That evening, Minghao just got back from a study session with the Hwarang's _Gukseon_ in the library when he took another route back to his designated chamber, passing by the archery field. It should be empty, because the scheduled trainings were supposed to be held this morning, but he could see someone shooting arrows inside. Curious, he cautiously walked behind the bush to peek at who'd be using the field.

Narrowing his eyes at the tall figure, he finally recognized the Hwarang who smiled at him the first time he came here. Minghao has never learned his name, despite being here for over a month already, but he could notice the tall figure with his quiver of arrows and the huge bow by his side. While other Hwarangs usually carried their swords with them, he seemed to be the only one particularly fond with his bow and arrows. It wasn't like he's the only one capable of shooting arrows, but from the look of it, this man surely had his gifts in aiming at precisely the right spot. It has been his fifth shot, and every single one hit the target nicely. He might not mastered archery himself, but Minghao knew. Minghao understood.

_Has he been watching that long?_   
_Maybe he has._

But before Minghao could say anything to announce his presence or just, say hi, another Hwarang came from the other side of the field. Jeon Wonwoo, he recognized him from Junhui's story yesterday, despite his shy nature, the other governor had managed to make some friends here. The Hwarang said something inaudible to his friend, and both of them started walking to where the other came from, the taller one bringing his bow and arrows with him. He watched as they conversed mutedly and walked to the other side of the field, probably talking strategies or whatever Hwarangs these days talked about.

Minghao retreated back to his chamber, wondering what sort of name would fit the beautiful man.

。。。。

The next day, Minghao had to take the route passing the archery field again, after coming back from the infirmary. He wasn't sick, nor did he felt unwell, it was just a regular check up he had been doing for the past 4 months.

Four months ago, he was on the way to the capital when his party got attacked. Despite being told to stay back and let his men deal with the attackers, he stubbornly went out and fought some, before a stray arrow got him on a shoulder. Even then, he had managed to slay one last person before one of his men dragged him back into the carriage, and let him pass out in pain. Luckily, they were almost inside Chengdu's borders that they were able to treat him as soon as possible.

When he woke up, he found himself in the palace’s infirmary, and was informed that his arrow had been pulled out and he should heal in a couple months, while wearing the sling support. Also that evening, when he met Emperor Taizong to talk about the matter, he was told that someone was targeting him, hence the attack the day before. He was lucky, for getting the arrow missing by a few centimetres from his heart. None of his men were hurt by an arrow, and it was clear whoever it was only intended to kill him, from long distance. Because of that, he took the Emperor's advice of staying in the capital until he healed, or till his attackers were found. And by staying, was also how he got involved into being sent as one of the delegates to Silla.

Four months later, despite being off the shoulder sling and seeing the skin wound healed perfectly himself, he still has to check it up every week. The scar was still there, but it was not the main concern. Even after so long, his left shoulder was still weak. He could fight, but not as nimble and steady like before he was hurt. It frustrated him sometimes, but there's just nothing he could do.

"Thought you've seen enough yesterday" The Hwarang suddenly spoke, startling him. 

"I was just passing" Minghao shrugged, despite what he said, he moved forward closer to where the other man stood.

The Hwarang said nothing and picked up an arrow from the stone seat behind him. He notched it in his bow, and began aiming for the target ahead. Once he let it go, the arrow flew, and hit the target right in the middle.

"Want to give it a try?" The Hwarang asked.

Unsure of what the other offered, he looked up at him, who had picked another arrow and his bow, raising it up while looking at him, raising up an eyebrow. He was challenging him.

Minghao scoffed, folding his hands. "You're not the only one who can shoot, Hwarang" He rolled his eyes.

"Never said that" The Hwarang said, nodding at what he said. But his smile was mocking.

Narrowing his eyes, Minghao took the offered bow and arrow from him. The tall man moved back, gladly allowing him to take his space previously and watched from behind. He positioned the bow, slightly too big because it was obviously crafted to match the Hwarang's tall proportion. Notching an arrow, he aimed at the centre of the target, the black dot that had been shot numerously before. Holding his breath, he carefully pulled the string and released it, sending the arrow to fly where he had aimed. Except, that it fell far from the middle, instead stabbing the circle target close to the edge.

"It has been a long time since I practiced archery" He said, laughing nervously as the bow slumped down her shoulder. He had pointedly avoided looking back at the other, to minimize the embarrassment, and was about to retrieve another arrow for good measure before he felt another pair of hand fixing his stature from behind. He had another arrow in his hand, and guided his hand to notch it in the bow.

"Aim at the centre, and make sure your shoulders are steady, like that" The Hwarang muttered, while guiding his hands to hold the bow. When he's steady enough, he began to guide his right hand to pull the string, and told him to release at the right moment.

The arrow flew, and hit the target right in the middle, slicing his previous arrow in two. 

"Easy, eh?" He said, somehow still holding him close.

_(Kim Mingyu._

_Minghao learned his name that day.)_

。。。。

The next day, Minghao told himself he was just passing the archery field again at the same time. But noticing it empty, he halted his steps and carefully swept the area for any signs of the tall knight, before someone surprised him from behind.

"I didn't know you took this route everyday, now" It was him, bow and a quiver of arrows in his hands, casually waking past him into the field.

"I sometimes pass by here too, you know" He scoffed, lying.

"Yeah? How come I never see you?" Mingyu said, setting the stuffs down on the stone seat. Despite what his brain told him, he followed him into the field.

"Maybe you never noticed" He said, shrugging as he sat by his stuffs.

"Hold this" The other said, giving him the bow and an arrow.

Minghao held them, but did not stand up as the other walked ahead, leaving him alone. He saw him ran to the target, picking it up and moving it closer, about half the original distance. When he came back, he picked an arrow and gave it to him, an obvious invitation to try shooting, again.

"Try to do as I told you yesterday" He said, moving to stand behind him.

He promptly raised the bow, notching the arrow as what he was shown yesterday. Minghao could hear his soft, heavy voice guiding him to fix his stature, pull the string, and release it after he was sure of his aiming. The arrow hit just mere centimetres from his shot yesterday, nearer to the centre now.

"You need to raise this shoulder a bit more" The Hwarang said, pushing his bad shoulder a bit further up. He must knew it brought him pain, because his hand stayed there, while the other gave him another arrow. He took and notched it, carefully aimed the centre and pulled the string again, then released.

Slowly after another two shots, Minghao was getting better and his arrows hit nearer to the centre. The taller man kept on holding his left arm, keeping the shoulder steady. Whenever he winced, he would softly pat the spot he had accidentally pressed too hard, or gripped too hard.

After the fifth attempt, Mingyu stopped him and told him to sit down. 

"What happened to your left shoulder?" Minghao had expected the question, but he still winced a little hearing it.

"I was hit with an arrow" He answered, short and to the point. At this, the Hwarang looked nearly apologetic as he realized what that meant. "It's alright. It was four months ago."

"But the trauma's still there" The taller sat down across from him on the stone seat, his bow and arrows between them.

"I guess so" Unconsciously, Minghao ran his hand on his bad shoulder, remembering the searing pain he first experienced when the arrow pierced through his shoulder. "But it's okay now, I don't use my left shoulder much."

"You don't?" Mingyu asked, wondering.

"I can still beat you in a sword match with one good shoulder" He said, smirking a little to support his point.

_(He did defeat Mingyu in a sword match, but he didn't get anywhere nearer the target in shooting the arrows.)_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chengdu: Tang Dynasty's Capital  
> Gukseon: Hwarang's Great Teacher
> 
> ◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇
> 
> second chapter! i hope u enjoyed!  
> see u on the next update ;)  
> [twt](http://twitter.com/littlegirl286) / [cc](https://curiouscat.qa/littlegirl28)


	3. Chapssaltteok

The next time Minghao saw him, was at the study room several weeks later. A squad of Hwarangs had gathered in the seats, talking softly among each other. At the front, he stood with Junhui and the other governors, and the Hwarang's _Gukseon_. A set of musical instruments lined up behind them, from the huge _Gǔ Zhēng_ to _Pí pá_ and the almost identical _Liu qin_. Once the last knight, Kim Mingyu, arrived and took his seat, the _Gukseon_ signalled the governors to start. Nodding, he took a deep breath and stepped forward.

"Good morning, Hwarangs" Minghao said, smiling earnestly. He caught Mingyu's gaze before continuing, "So this morning, we have gathered several of you to attend a class here as a part of the culture exchange with Tang Empire."

"As you can see, these are the musical instruments that we have brought from Tang." Junhui continued his explanation. He recognized the glint of pride in the older governor's eyes as he spoke. "And today, we will show you how to play"

There were at least a dozen Hwarangs, privately chosen by the _Gukseon_ , and every single of them were brilliantly curious and very eager to learn more about the instruments. Every time a governor finished performing with one instrument, they clapped politely and asked questions about the origin of it. A few even asked for a try. Junhui told them to be patient until all the instruments were finished to be introduced, before they can try it.

Minghao watched from the side-lines as the knights crowded the instruments, picking which they think would suit them best, and trying them as supervised by the governors. Yanan was correcting a Hwarang's grip on his _Èr hú_ , telling him to relax, shifting his arms into better position. Junhui was running his fingers on the strings of the _Gǔ Zhēng_ , showing Jeon Wonwoo and a couple other knights how to properly play the instrument. Everyone was excited to learn, and the ambience was very good. Everyone, except one Hwarang.

"You're not going to try anything?" Minghao asked the tall man. He has been hovering at the edge of the room, not too close or too far from where his peers gathered.

"I'm letting them get the experience first" Mingyu answered. His quiver and bows were absent today. It was just him, and the blue headband that matched his Hwarang uniform. "What about you? You haven't touched any of the instruments either"

"I don't play" He answered honestly.

"You don't?" The knight asked, seemed taken aback at the revelation.

"You'll find out later" He said, placing a small smirk on the corner of his mouth. But he wasn't looking at the other, nor did he planned him to see.

"What?" Mingyu asked. "Oh, is there another secret instrument then? Grand one only you can play?" Now the older was definitely teasing, but he scoffed and waved it off.

"Just go and learn something" Minghao rolled his eyes. He wanted to push the Hwarang, but he had moved forward on his own.

"I do play, if you want to know" He said, looking around, and his gaze fell on an instrument in one of the governor's hand, and he pointed at it. "The instrument looks like that"

"That's called _Liu qin_." The Chinese told him.

" _Liu qin_?" The older said, trying to pronounce the word just like what he was told. Minghao nodded, it's heavily accented, but at least he got the gist of it. "I used to play an instrument like that when I was a kid"

"Was" He said quietly, only to himself as he chuckled at his own joke before shooing the taller man into the crowd. "Then go and learn that one. Maybe it works just the same way"

"Well come on then" Mingyu pulled him along.

  
The class continued for the next day, but instead of the study room, they were gathered at the training grounds today. The instruments were placed nicely at the edge of the field, along with a rack of swords. While the Hwarangs lined up and wondered about the connection between the swords and the instruments, Minghao called out to them and explained what they will be doing today 

"So yesterday, we introduced you all to the musical instruments of Tang. And some of you, from what the other governors told me, are quiet interested and even picked up fast enough to play on his own" He caught someone elbowing another person in the crowd. "Well that's great, I truly appreciate your enthusiasm. And today," Minghao looked behind his shoulders and motioned Junhui to stood beside him. "Me and Junhui here, we are going to show you more of the cultures of Tang Empire. Later on, there'll be some news and challenges to be announced. But for now, please enjoy."

The Hwarangs made collective nods and whispers among themselves. And before anyone could say or asked about anything, he motioned for them to stand back and take a seat in a semicircle on the field, while the other governors took their place at the instruments. He caught Mingyu's wondering eyes, answering him with a look that said just watch, and smirked for good measure. He didn't look at him long enough to see the taller scoff, because he's already busy communicating with his team about what they're going to show the knights. Minghao walked to the centre of the field, lining up with Junhui behind him. He locked eyes with the tallest Hwarang, and when Yanan strummed the first tone on his _Èr hú,_ he started to move his limbs.

He danced delicately, following the tune and rhythm of the instruments and expressed his emotions through the movements of his hands and legs. His bad shoulder didn't slow his moves, it didn't throb or felt unwell like it sometimes did, and Minghao was thankful for that, he showed it in his jumps and big smile as he circled around his dancing partner. Junhui jumped along with him, filling and completing the missing parts he left for him, before the both of them stopped colliding and twirled to opposite ends of the field. The music cascaded into a slower and smaller tune now, the _Gǔ Zhēng_ nominating most of it. He moved forward, smoothly taking the solo spotlight.

He twirled once, and displayed moves that would look complicated to the untrained eyes but to him, it flowed like water from the source. He raised his chin up, embracing the warm sunlight on his face and the wind on his outstretched hands, as if beckoning the Hwarangs to move forward and join him. He looked at his audience at the end of his sequence, and when he found a pair of eyes that began to feel familiar to him for the last week, he closed his eyes again and tumbled away to give Junhui his solo.

As the older governor finished his turn, Minghao grabbed a sword from the rack and removed the scabbard. He took a deep breath, and raised his sword, coming into the spotlight as Junhui did the same. Their swords clashed, and just like sword-fighting, they moved and jabbed and parried at each other, movements calculated and nimble. They circled on one another, the swords still pointed at each other's throats. He took the first move now, carefully slashing at his partner's abdomen, which Junhui gracefully avoided. They clashed their swords again twice, before beginning to move in sync side by side, twirling the weapon in their hands.

Nearing the end, he took one last move, breathless and smiling satisfied, as he caught the Hwarang's gaze again. Mingyu looked at him with something akin to admiration, but there was something more in his eyes and Minghao couldn't recognize it yet, the other breaking their contact too fast.

_("That was awesome" Mingyu told him that night after dinner. "I don't think I can match your energy."_

_"We'll see." He told him, smiling a little.)_

。。。。

The news and announcements, as it turned out to be was the festival next month. The Hwarangs usually took part of the annual celebration, but with the presence of the foreign guests now, they made another extra effort to help the people know better Silla's sister-empire Tang. While there's a whole other Hwarang team performing like they usually do every festival, the _Gukseon_ selected another dozen to perform the performance with the ambassadors from Tang. They're to collaborate, all ten governors and twelve Hwarangs, divided into some who played the instruments and some performing the dances. After showing them the dance, and letting the Hwarangs choose which position they'd take, they decided to practice thrice every week, slipping time in the middle of original schedules.

Turned out, that was more than enough when they nailed the performance perfectly on the second week. The Hwarangs were already talented in arts themselves, and picking up the routine from the Chinese governors were a little to no challenge to them. Halfway to one month, they managed to add some new moves, after perfecting every practices. Rather than going all Tang style, they decided to add some of Silla too, creating a whole fusion of the two cultures, a beautiful, dynamic performance they were sure would highlight the festival.

The night of the festival, instead of watching other performances while waiting for their turn, Mingyu dragged him out to the market area, away from the busy stage.

"Where are we going? We're going to miss our own performance!" He hissed at the taller man, still not letting his grip off his right hand.

"No, we're not. Just follow me" Mingyu said, sending a cheeky grin at him. 

A few seconds later, the Hwarang stopped at a food stand. It was brightly decorated like all the other stands around, but the aroma wafting around is the strongest among them. A sweet aroma of something, and Minghao's mouth watered. He was on his tip toes to peek over the taller's shoulder to see what's the source of the sweet smell when Mingyu turned around, motioning him to open his mouth and plopped a mysterious blue ball inside. He knitted his brows at him, feeling the soft foreign food on his tongue. But when he started chewing, his eyes went wide. It tasted just like how it smelled, sweet but not too sweet, chewy, and delicious. The Hwarang raised a brow at him, tilting his head, and when Minghao gave him an approving smile, he turned back and spoke something to the auntie behind the stand.

"What is that?" He asked the Hwarang as they walked together.

"This is called _Chapssaltteok_ " Mingyu said, pronouncing carefully for him. "It's made from glutinous rice, and filled with sweet red bean paste. Do you like it?"

"It's good" He nodded, chewing another pink blob.

"Good" The taller nodded along, his canines smile showing. Minghao noticed that he's been jittery this evening. Must be the nerves he thought, they're performing tonight. Reminded of that, Minghao started to feel his own nervousness coming back. It was actually a relief when Mingyu dragged him into the food stalls earlier. He had been thinking through of their performance, making sure everything is ready and perfect. He had to maintain the good connection between the two kingdoms. And by messing up even just a little bit, that could be considered an offence from his country to Silla.

"What are you thinking?" The Hwarang asked, shoving him the last _chapssaltteok_ which he gladly accepted.

"Nothing" He said, using the excuse of full mouth to not elaborate.

"If you're thinking about the performance, don't worry too much" The taller said, almost making him choke on the last pieces of the small cake. "It will be great."

"How do you know it'd be perfect?" Minghao asked, genuinely curious of what the other thought.

"It won't be." He almost scoffed before the Hwarang continued, "Because nothing would be perfect you know, but you, me, and the whole team, we've prepared and practiced so much, poured out all our hearts into it. And however it turns out, it'll be the best thing that we did."

"You should do poetry with your way of words, Mingyu" He said, laughing a little. But what the other said warmed him. He believed it.

"Don't worry about the King" The taller said with a knowing look. "He'll like it just fine"

"How would you know?" Minghao narrowed his eyes at him, suspicious, because he quickly adverted his eyes somewhere else and dragged him to stop at a stall.

"Look! It's very pretty, I think it suits you" Mingyu said, picking up a white necklace and showed it to him.

"I don't really wear necklaces" He shook his head, waving away the piece of jewellery back.

"Hmm, then what about this?" The Hwarang picked up a gold pin. It looked really majestic, a simple arrow, but elegantly sculpted. "It matched your clothes too, red and gold"

Minghao took the pin in his hand, examining the smooth surface. He liked it. "I'll keep this if you get something for yourself too." The other's eyes lit up, and he began searching for something that he would like.

"Oh are you taking that pin, young man?" The stall auntie asked Minghao, pointing at the pin between his fingers.

"Yes, I was just waiting for him to pick something too" He smiled politely, glancing at Mingyu still hunched over a display of hair combs.

"Oh him too?" The auntie looked at Mingyu, and the other looked up, smiling politely at her. But before he could go back ogling at the jewelleries, the auntie has taken something from the bracelets section. "Here"

"Oh, it's gold too! Pretty." The Hwarang said, taking the bracelet it from her. It was gold too, and the pendant was shaped like a bow without an arrow notched.

"Isn't it? It's actually a match with the pin" The auntie said, nodding at the gold arrow Minghao held. "It was originally a set of bracelets, but my husband decided to make the other one as a pin, because it suits them better." She smiled brightly at them. "And see, it suits you both perfectly"

"Oh really?" Mingyu smiled excitingly at the explanation. "Well, we'll take them, then!"

_(The performance went really well, everyone were greatly appreciated for their efforts. The King even summoned the group for a feast in the Palace._

_"We did it, Hao!"_   
_"Yes we did, Gyu.")_


	4. Attacked

Minghao was with Junhui in the library when a sudden commotion from outside startled them. It was like a lot of people were running through the corridors heading to what they assumed must be the front gates. Curious, he decided to peek out the doors.

"What happened, Hao?" Junhui asked, already standing beside him.

"Let's check it out" He said, moving first to navigate them out to the gates. They were silent along the way, and he knew Junhui was about to say something when they reached the edge of the field, and met eyes with the Hwarang _Gukseon._

"Minghao! Junhui!" The old man said, he looked relieved seeing them. "I think it is advised that the both of you and anyone of the other governors do not go out of the gates today."

"Is something the matter, Teacher?" Junhui politely asked, worried. They could see the remaining Hwarangs getting out the gates in full combat costume.

"It appears that there has been another attack from Baekje this morning" The _Gukseon_ answered. He looked uneasy, as if something bothered him. It has something to do with the attacks, and whatever it was, it must be something bad. "I assume you can relay this to the other governors, young men?"

"Jiaer and Yizhing are in the Palace today. But everyone else must be in their own chambers as of right now" Right as he said that, Yanan came running with a questioning look from the other side of the field. "Yes we can tell them. But Teacher, is there anything we could help with?"

"I'm afraid not, Minghao" The old man shook his head sadly. "I already sent all the Hwarangs to handle this. Shall anything goes haywire, I'll be sure no harm comes to any of the Tang's ambassadors."

"No, we're not worried about that. But Teacher," He said, making eye contact with the other two governors. "Please do not hesitate to take our offer. We can help"

The _Gukseon_ nodded. He still looked worried and bothered, but if anything, his words did reassure him somehow and brought a little bit hope to him. So they bowed politely at each other and parted their ways. The three governors decided to just settle at one of the bungalows near the front gates, just in case something happened. After being told, Yanan went to the chambers and called up the other ambassadors.

"Do you think it will be okay?" He asked the older governor, as they sat together facing the stone wall.

"I don't know" Junhui answered honestly. "But aside from being pretty, the Hwarangs are soldiers. If not them, who else would handle these kind of things?"

"I know that" Minghao nodded. He understood that, but his heart was still worried, especially about someone.

"They'll be okay" The taller one said reassuringly, looking longingly at the sky, "He'll be okay"

_(Minghao did not find Mingyu when some of the Hwarangs got back later.)_

。。。。

The next day, Minghao still got no news of Mingyu's whereabouts. He also did not see any of his usual squad, the Hwarangs under him, or his _nangdo_ s among the soldiers who went back the second night. He fumbled with the golden pin in his hands, the pin he got from the Hwarang last year at the festival. It was so long ago, but sometimes it also felt like he just arrived at the city yesterday.

He was worried for him. He knew, he understood Mingyu's a soldier, he's a _Wonsanghwa_. But he's still worried that his friend is facing a life-threatening danger. He couldn't even imagine himself ever accepting any news that he somehow got hurt or fatally injured beyond help. They'd only known each other for a year, but Minghao valued him like an old friend. Maybe more.

The seventh night, Jeon Wonwoo returned. Minghao wasn't as excited or jittery as Junhui, but he's relieved to finally see a familiar face, with a few bruises here and there, came back. He understood not to bombard the older with questions although he already wanted to blurt them out the moment he saw him enter the gates. He let him rest his back on the infirmary's wall, empty aside from the three of them now. But before Minghao could voice any of his wonderings, the Hwarang spoke first.

"Mingyu is alright" Wonwoo stated. He was still closing his eyes, Junhui sat on the bed opposite of him, eyes worried but tingling with curiosity. "He's defending our last fort at the same time trying to get back the imprisoned citizens. Our team is working hard out there with two forts taken."

"Thank you" Minghao said earnestly. He didn't really know Wonwoo that well, but the older man seemed really exhausted and honest with his story. He's Mingyu's friend and colleague, there's no reason not to trust him either. 

"Your welcome" The Hwarang opened his eyes. Sharp, foxy eyes, that could kill even if he was only sending death threats just through his gaze. But now they were smiling at him, as he pulled something out of his pockets. "He told me to gave you this."

He took the bundle in his hands, and unwrapped it in front of them. Inside, was a familiar golden bracelet with the bow pendant. He ran his finger on the smooth surface, cleaning a drop of dried blood on the edge. But Minghao knitted his brows. Stupid Mingyu, he thought. Why would he gave him this? He should instead wear it. And never let it off his wrist.

"Are you coming back to the fort tomorrow?" He asked Wonwoo, which the older nodded to. He wrapped the bracelet back in the folds, and handed it to the Hwarang "Please give this back to him. And tell him to never get it off"

Wonwoo smiled proudly, he didn't know why, and nodded, taking the bundle back into his pockets. Minghao then left Junhui to help the Hwarang with his wounds, retreating back to his chamber for the night.

_(The fourteenth night Mingyu returned. Minghao earned himself the biggest and warmest bear hug ever._

_"I'm sorry."_   
_"You didn't do anything wrong.")_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wonsanghwa: Senior Hwarang.  
> Nangdo: A troop under a Hwarang.
> 
> ◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇
> 
> sorry it was short :)  
> let me know what do you think so far!  
> my [twt](http://twitter.com/littlegirl286) or [cc](https://curiouscat.qa/littlegirl28)


	5. Promised

Even as the year progressed, the battle between the two kingdoms did not settle down. The attacks last year brought sorrows to many. Two of their strong forts were taken. Many citizens were taken also as prisoners, pushed to bow down or tortured to death. Even as the fight ended, everyone knew both kingdoms were still plotting against each other. Hostile, dangerous plan to unite the land by force, but a plan nevertheless. If Silla did not strike first, the kingdom would forever be deemed the smallest, the weakest, the easiest to be taken hold of. Cruel, but smart.

Minghao knew of the plan. He knew of the strategic plans the Hwarangs are brewing in order to take back the Gajam fort, and possibly win over Baekje too somehow. He knew he shouldn't meddle, and he didn't. Mingyu has just been sharing too much information with him, and he wasn't complaining. He didn't mind.

A few days before the decided attack date, Jiaer told the governors that the King have summoned them all to the Palace. He wondered what would that be for, especially in the middle of a war atmosphere like this. Of course, the governors have their own suspicions, but whatever the result of the meeting with the King, they decided to just go along with what he wanted. If he wanted them to go home, they'll gladly go. Better than being trapped in a feud they wouldn't dare participate into.

As it turned out, King Jinpyeong did want the governors to go back to Tang, apparently because he thought the war between the kingdoms had gone worse. He claimed it for their safety, but Minghao just assumed he did not want to be blamed if anyone of them died when they were under his protection. By sending them home, it will be seen as if he cared and did not want the ambassadors to be hurt as they dealt with the war. All for a good connection between Tang and Silla. 

But for Minghao, it wasn't just the order from Silla's King that urged him to go home. The same morning Jiaer told the governors of the meeting at the palace, the older governor also handed him an official letter from Tang. Signed by the Emperor, to Xu Minghao. Curious, he opened it almost immediately after he got back into his chamber.

The letter was boring, with the usual structured words of the Empire's official letters, but he got the message. The person who threatened to kill him has been found. The one who gave him the arrow wound, two years ago now, has been captured. And the Emperor wanted him there to face the man before his execution.

。。。。

"Hey, sorry, I was discussing with the Hwarangs earlier. We got carried away a bit, I think" Mingyu said, sitting beside him on the stone seat in the archery field.

"It's okay" He smiled. He hasn’t been waiting that long. Besides, he liked the weather that evening. "How's the planning?"

"Great" The older's eyes lit up. He's always excited to talk about the planning. "We're more than ready to advance. We'll succeed, and get back the forts and win the kingdom too, you'll see"

"I believe you" Minghao giggled. He couldn't help but pat the other's head. He always like the look on Mingyu’s face when he's excited or proud of something. "But there's something I need to tell you about that."

"What is it?" The Hwarang asked. His expression dropped, narrowing his eyes at him. "Are you going to join us?"

"No, not that." The other's face quickly turned back to smile before he delivered his next sentence. "I'm going back home."

"You what?" Mingyu snapped, and it startled him. The Hwarang didn't even bother to apologize, his eyes unreadable as he stared hard at him. "Hao?" But it wasn't the soft way he used to call his nickname. It was a stern, demanding tone.

"I'm going back to Tang" Despite his friend's scary attitude he tried to answer the question truthfully. It's out anyways, no point in lying. "The King's order."

There was a long pause after that. Minghao felt uneasy, because this wasn't the comfortable silence they'd sometimes have when they have nothing else to talk about. The silence was hard, heavy with unresolved problems and unsaid words. And before he could go crazy, the Hwarang finally responded.

"It's not only the King's order, isn't it?" The older asked him, looking at him still with an expression he couldn't read.

"Yeah, it's.." He hesitated. Mingyu knew, the reason behind his weak shoulder. He told him two years ago, at this exact field on this exact stone seat.

"It's okay, you don't have to tell me" The other said, then he scoffed. "I am not that trustworthy either."

"What do you mean you're not trustworthy? You're my most trusted friend, Kim Mingyu" He said, a bit hurt that his friend just degraded himself.

"If I really am, you wouldn't hesitate" The Hwarang said, laughing dryly. Minghao was surprised to see him stood up, and left, not once looking back.

_(He did not see Mingyu the next day, or the days after.)_

。。。。

He couldn't find Mingyu anywhere. He did not understand what's going on the older's mind, and he has been searching for him everyday, looking everywhere, the archery field, the training grounds, kitchen, but he never found even a trace of him. Minghao even asked his usual squad of friends, his _nangdo_ s, but none knew of his whereabouts. That, until the night before his supposed departure. 

He was retreating back to his chamber after hanging out at the archery field reading scrolls, secretly hoping Mingyu would somehow appear when someone called him. 

"Hey, Minghao!" He turned at the sound of his name, and found Jeon Wonwoo dragging a sulky Kim Mingyu, _Mingyu_ , behind him. The older Hwarang stopped a few steps in front of him and shoved the younger closer to him. Minghao reflexively held out both his hands to stop Mingyu from falling on him. "Someone wanted to say sorry"

And with that, the older Hwarang left them alone at the hallway.

Minghao had his hands back on his sides, no longer touching the taller. Mingyu still wasn't looking at him. He had his head down, standing awkwardly a step away from him.

"Gyu?" He called softly, suppressing the many emotions he felt that time not to startle the other. But he let one question out. "Where have you been?"

At that, Mingyu looked up. He looked sad, like he's on the edge of crying but decided to suck it up and hide the tears away. He also looked apologetic, and the younger could understand that. "I'm sorry" He took a deep breath. "I should've said that sooner and it may be too late but-"

"It's alright" Minghao tried to smile but he couldn't. He thought about the reality. The wasted time they could've spend well. The fact that this was his last night in Seorabeol.

"No, don't cry. Please" The older said, reaching out to wipe at his cheek. _He cried?_ "I'm sorry Hao." And he pulled the younger into his embrace.

。。。。

"I'm sorry" The Hwarang said again, under the moonlight as they sat at the stone seat in the archery field.

"Enough apologies, Mingyu" He told the other. The night's windy, with the sound of the crickets the only company beside the two men. It was already past curfew, but Mingyu's a _Wonsanghwa_ , it didn't matter even if he stayed up until the morning.

"Still, I was foolish" The older shook his head. His hands fidgeted together, and sometimes, Minghao saw him fiddling with the bracelet’s pendant.

"You were, but I forgave you" He said, reassuring the other. There were a thousand more things he wanted to say to him. A lot of feelings and thoughts he couldn't understand. But he didn't know how to. He didn't have the courage.

"Thank you for that" Mingyu smiled sincerely at him. He knew the older also has something in his mind. It's visible in the way he smiled, the way he handled himself, the way he hugged him earlier. 

They didn't say anything else after that. The sounds of night comforted their aching hearts, longing for something the both of them knew was beyond reach. Was forbidden. Would they dare to risk it all for their own happiness? The answer was most definitely, no.

"I'll be going tomorrow." They both said at the same time. Minghao was startled, so he voiced his question. "Yeah, the plan began tomorrow. The sooner, the better, we thought"

"Then you should be resting now" He told the Hwarang.

"You too" Mingyu instead said. Well, he wasn't wrong. He had a long way to go himself tomorrow.

"Just let me spend a few more moments with you" He said honestly. He really want to stop the time, and bask in their presence like this forever.

The Hwarang looked at him. His eyes were full of emotions. He was suddenly reminded of the times they spent together the last two years. Their first meeting. The time they practiced archery together. Their festival performance. Their trips to the market at night, tasting delicious foods he's never had before. Their late night talks, conversing and discussing about anything. There were so many memories, so many great moments they made. And now it all has came to a stop.

"Are you ever going to come back?" Mingyu asked. He sounded longing, like a lost puppy asking for his way back home.

"I honestly don't know, Gyu" He could only answer, wistfully smiling. He could hope, but he could never be sure. And he could never put the Mingyu in that situation.

"Can I hope?" Minghao sighed at that. Just exactly what he was afraid of. He told himself before that he couldn't do that to him. He might not come back at all, even if they did agree to write to each other, it wouldn't last long. He wanted Mingyu to find someone new and possibly forget him, if remembering them only brought pain to him. He didn't want to see his friend in pain. He wanted Mingyu to be happy. But if hope made him happy, then he'll gladly gave him that.

"I want you to be happy" He blurted. No point in hiding anything now, he's like an open book under the other's intense gaze.

"I am happy with you" Mingyu said, raising a hand to cup his cheek. He leaned into the touch, savouring the feeling as much as he could before taking the hand to intertwine it with his own.

"I too, am happy with you" Minghao confessed. He fiddled with the Hwarang's bracelet’s pendant. The bow to his arrow. "Promise me then, Mingyu, we'll find each other again. Won't we?"

"I promise you, Minghao." Mingyu brought his chin up to face him again, caressing there "I'll find you"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> will either of them keep their promise? let's see😌


	6. Loved

_647, Seorabeol, Kingdom of Silla._

After over two decades, Seorabeol has had a lot of changes. The buildings and forts were absolutely newly-built, and some of the road has been altered differently from the last time Minghao was here. The markets and businesses were still going strong, and the people looked brighter, happier, like they’re enjoying a result of the hardships they went through.

Only the Palace looked the same, still with the signature red and gold colour of _Seon-geol_ , it just looked more regal and grander from before. And instead of a king, a queen ruled Silla now, a newly appointed one, the Queen Jindeok. After the internal problem the previous Queen dealt with, the kingdom decided to strengthen the diplomatic bond between Tang and Silla once again. After Silla had sent their monks few years back, it was Tang's turn to send their ambassadors. Seeing the opportunity, Minghao obviously didn't think twice and signed himself in. And here now, he’s breathing the fresh air of Seorabeol again, after a very long time. 

Upon entering the Palace, he wasn't expecting to see a familiar face on the royal officials row. It was the Hwarang Jeon Wonwoo, now appointed _Gukseon_ , who gave him a somewhat sad smile when their gazes met. Minghao didn't understand that, but he was grateful for seeing someone familiar on the first day of being back here. It would make finding _him_ easier, he thought. So after the welcoming, he was a bit surprised to find Wonwoo already waiting for him outside the throne room.

"Hello, Minghao." The man greeted him. Not much has changed from his appearance. The new _Gukseon_ still looked tall and muscular like when he was a Hwarang back then. If anything, Wonwoo looked wiser.

"Hello, _Gukseon_ Wonwoo." He greeted back. He had noticed that the both of them had similar characters back when they were young. They talk less, spend more time reading, and learning. But Minghao had a weird feeling today, a feeling he wasn't certain he'd like. He fidgeted the golden arrow pin anxiously between his fingers.

"How have you been? It's been a very long time, I guess." The older asked. His tone was warm and welcoming, almost like he's afraid he'd hurt Minghao.

"Yeah, it has. It's a great opportunity to be back here again, meeting old friends." He smiled. He was dying to just ask the point _where is your fellow Hwarang_ , but he decided to keep it for later. He waited for 21 years. He surely could wait for a few more moments.

"Old friends." Now the way the Gukseon talked was just odd. It was like Wonwoo was holding back something he knew Minghao wouldn't like. He decided to risk it.

"Speaking of old friends, is Mingyu around?" He finally asked. But he wasn't prepared when Wonwoo tried to gave him a neutral expression and requested Minghao to follow him instead. A thought invaded his brain, but he pushed it aside, replacing it with the tiny bit of hope he kept since that last night here under the moonlight.

Wonwoo took him into the Hwarang House, passing the old familiar route and brought him to the archery field. It was autumn at that time, and the wind was as strong as he remembered before, blowing fallen leaves from the trees around, making the field a pretty view to look at. He followed the older until they stopped at one of the stone seats, the one he used to spend time on with Mingyu back then, and watched him dug through the yellowed leaves, revealing a small opening in the stone. Wonwoo poked at the small slit and removed a slab of stone, retrieving a small blue pouch from the inside before slapping the stone back.

"You might want to sit while reading it" The older man gave the blue pouch to him, avoiding his gaze.

"What is this?" Minghao asked. He didn't understand. He asked for Mingyu, not a pouch hidden in stone.

"You'll see" Wonwoo said. He smiled at him, but it was evident now that it was a sad smile. The bad thought from before came again, but Minghao ignored that, and began opening the pouch. Inside, was a neatly folded paper, and familiar jewellery. A golden bracelet, with a bow pendant hanging. Mingyu's bracelet. He quickly unwrapped the paper with shaky hands.

_To my precious Xu Minghao,_

_Do you perhaps remember our first meeting? Maybe you'd say it was when we met in the archery field, but it was actually way earlier than that. The first time your group of ambassadors came, I was there at the edge of the Palace’s grand stairs. When you passed by me, I offered you a small smile, a polite gesture I was used to giving. But I wasn't actually expecting you to smile back. I thought that was a good start for the both of us, eh?_

_Then, the meetings at the archery field. I have always liked archery ever since I was a little boy. And when I've had a stressful day, sometimes I'll bring my bow and quiver and shoot arrows until my fingers are numb. That day, I was aware that someone was watching me practice, but I only know it was you the next day, when we first conversed for real. To be honest, my first impression of you was not that good. You gave off a strong, regal, and vain aura on the outside. But amongst it all, I could see a little bit of curiosity in your eyes when you paid attention to my archery. I could see why the Emperor picked you as an ambassador, he saw the potential in you, your eagerness to learn new things. And I appreciated that too, especially after knowing you had been injured by an arrow._

_After that, you showed us Hwarangs the Tang Empire's dance. I still remember the goose bumps I felt when I watched you nailing that backflip. Your moves, so delicate and graceful, yet sharp and stern at some point too. That performance took my breath away. And I told myself, if we were to perform something together at the festival, I shouldn't handle either one of the musical instruments. Because even if I manage to master an instrument, I doubted I'll be able to play right while watching you dance._

_And yeah, the festival! Remember the moment before we performed? When I dragged you outside and took you to taste the most delicious chapssaltteok in Seorabeol? That time, I was actually a bit nervous. It wasn't my first time preparing a show for the festival, but it was the first time I'll be performing a new routine. And from the look on your face, and the way you fidgeted, I knew you were nervous too. I didn't know what made you so nervous, seeing that you were very good when you danced in front of the Hwarangs before, but I assumed that it has something to do with the foreign atmosphere. The festival here, everything was new to you. So in order to make you feel a bit at ease, I decided to introduce you to the kingdom's trademark food. I was hoping when you've had a taste, that you'll feel less nervous and a bit more homey. I guess I succeeded, because then we even bought some jewelleries and delivered an outstanding performance in front of the King._

_Fast forwarding, I was also reminded of the first attack from Baekje since you came here. Ever since the previous King attacked the neighbouring kingdom, Silla is always ready to face any counter attacks. Hwarangs are stationed 24 hours, taking turns in guarding their posts. But that time, the assault was very huge the off duty Hwarangs had to come through, including me. I had no time to prepare anything, just snatching any necessary weapons and defences, before we marched to the warzone. I was already in the battlefield when I glanced at my bracelet and remembered you. I wondered whether you were worried or not, and because it seemed too ridiculous, I decided to just focus on the battle, saving the citizens and making plans to take back the forts Baekje's army took. On the seventh night, one of the Hwarangs in my team were badly injured, and Wonwoo decided to accompany him back. Seeing the opportunity, I impulsively pulled him aside to relay my messages to you, including the bracelet. I wasn't thinking, but when he came back the next day, with the jewellery cleaned off the dried blood and your own message, I realized that my impulsive act was indeed, foolish. From that day on, I vowed myself to never take the bracelet off my wrist._

_Remembering those, it was the truth when I say that there has been so many memories we made together. Every moments were so precious, and each one of them told their own stories. I have learned many things from you, Minghao. I have learned many things from our friendship. I have became a better person since I knew you. I have became the best version of me because of you. And for that, I am very thankful. I am proud to say that you changed me for the better, and meeting you was the best thing that ever happened in my life._

_Tomorrow, I'll be fighting another big battle, Hao. I don't know how long it will last, but we are optimist that we can win this. It's not against Baekje this time, it's some sort of a rebellion war, between two parties inside the kingdom. I don't even know myself why, am I writing this letter to you now when we haven't been in contact for over twenty years, but I had hope. I still have the hope in my heart, from the last night we talked. I still have to fulfil my promise to you. I still have to find you._

_After this battle is over, if I still have the chance, I promised myself that I'd start it. I don't know how, but my will is strong, and I am encouraged that it will help me. Please do forgive me if maybe it's too late, but a promise is a promise. I'll do my best to fulfil it. I'll do anything to complete it._

_So, wait for me, Xu Minghao. Because I promised, I'll find you._

_With Love,_  
_Kim Mingyu._

Minghao did not cried, he did not. He didn’t even know what to feel. He stared at the paper for what seemed hours, but when he opened his mouth to ask something, he wasn't expecting Wonwoo to still be there, sitting beside him with a sombre expression.

"Where is Mingyu?" He asked, looking at the older man with an empty look. He didn't want to, but he has to know. Even if he knew whatever answer Wonwoo gave him would hurt him, he has to hear it.

"Before the battle he already told me about that letter. He told me where to find it for safekeeping, in case something happened to him. I told him he's being ridiculous, that we'd all survive and he'd get to see you again soon, but I guess fate decided the other way." The _Gukseon_ began speaking. His own voice is trembling, but he tried to be steady for Minghao.

"The last day of the battle, Mingyu went home with a huge wound on his side. He was badly injured, but he had a strong will that he must survive. He had to keep his promise to you" Wonwoo looked at him, and he was expecting a look of dislike, or hatred, but there was only deep sadness there. "Unfortunately, the injury was too severe. The physicians had done everything they could do, but it was a lost cause right from the start. We lost a friend and colleague on the same night we won a battle."

"On that very night, Mingyu gave that bracelet to me. He never took it off even once all this years, but as he was breathing his last moments, he took it off and told me to put it together with the letter. He was really sorry because he couldn't keep his promise to you, but with the letter, he hoped he'll be forgiven if just a little bit." Wonwoo was done explaining, but he wanted to hear more. He wanted to know more, to catch up on what he's missed when they were apart. He yearned to hear it all. He yearned to hear it all from Mingyu himself. But fate was cruel.

He cried to himself in his chamber that night. He sobbed quietly, fondling the bow pendant in between his fingers. Minghao re-read the letter over and over again, staining the paper with his tears he clumsily tried to brush off. He blamed himself for everything. He blamed himself for being foolish. He blamed himself for Mingyu's death. He blamed himself for giving him hope. He hated himself for all of it.

He still couldn't believe it. Even after Wonwoo showed him his last resting place, Minghao still somehow think that Mingyu was still alive and well, that all this was only a bad dream punishing him for not contacting his friend at all for over twenty years. Punishing him because he was afraid of his own feelings. Because he wasn't honest. Because he let them both hope. Because he loved Mingyu.

_And Mingyu loved him too._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i sincerely apologize.  
> BUT! the tags do say angst-with-a-happy-ending so wait out :)
> 
> go rant on my [twt](http://twitter.com/littlegirl286) or [cc](https://curiouscat.qa/littlegirl28) :")


	7. Pendant

**_"A bow always comes with an arrow, Mingyu. And this is your bow. Someday, you'll find the arrow, and your life will be complete."_ **

  
_That's what his mother had told him, when he turned ten, as she gifted him the golden bow shaped pendant. It looked very pretty under the moonlight that time, polished brand new but it felt ancient, like it has been existing for more than a thousand years._

_Since then, he had kept the pendant in a chain, close to him, until he could understand what his mother had meant._

。。。。

One time when he was 14, Mingyu was playing outside with a few friends. He had so much fun that day he returned home so exhausted he's barely awake to eat dinner, and answered his parents' questions about the day sleepily. While his dad could only shook his head at him, his mum smiled warmly and sent him to bed early. Once he got to his room, he looked at himself in the mirror and noticed, that he's missing something. His necklace, and the pendant his mother gave him.

He frantically went to search it through his bathroom, his dirty clothes, under his bed, and anywhere he could've lost it, before sleep finally took him and he gave up.

The next morning though, when his mum knocked on his door to wake him up for school, he found the pendant laying on the bedside table, like it had been there all the time while he was sure there had been nothing on it last night. Picking it up in his hands, he wore it with a smile, thinking that his mum found it and placed it there for him.

But when he asked her over breakfast, he was instead given questioning glances and _'how did you even manage to lost that'_ from both his parents.

。。。。

When he was 20, he attended a party hosted by one of his classmates in their bigass penthouse overlooking the sea. He planned to come with a good intentions, greet the host, meet some friends, play some games, and get back to his dorm sober. But well, everything seemed to be out of his plan right from the start.

He arrived late, because he overslept, and that's just so unlike Kim Mingyu, but he told himself he's not the only one who'd show up late. But by being late, he could not greet the host because they're obviously already _drunk._ He shrugged and told himself it didn't matter.

And then he went and met some friends. Along with some enemies too. It's not like he lived his life picking out fights and making enemies, but there were just people who envied him. Envied his looks, his good grades, his circle of friends, his existence, just about anything. And this one, happened to be in spite of his popularity, so they spiked his drink in hope that he got drunk and embarrassed himself. Lame, and no, he didn't get drunk, _yet_ , because instead of making him drunk and out of his mind, the drink made him blow out his asshole he had to block the toilet stalls for half an hour. 

If you think it ended there, no, it was just getting to the _greatest_ part.

After emptying his stomach, Mingyu decided to settle down and play some games. At first it was fun, he was winning, and by winning he did not have to drink the shots prepared for the losers. But then at player rolls, he got paired up with a student in his year he barely knew because they don't often have the same classes. Well Mingyu didn't really know him aside from a few stories he's heard about _Dance Prodigy Xu Minghao_ , a transfer student who managed to stole the spotlight with his skilled moves on the stage at the university's annual competition. Either way, they played that night and _fuck_ , Mingyu was losing. 

He's always lost by a few points, but no mercy, he had to drink. And by a lots of couple more games, he's lightheaded but managed to challenge the other to another one time, which luckily he managed to win. He should've stop at that, but he just couldn't help but savour his victory, and challenged his opponent for another round. Which of course, he lost.

By God knows how many more games later, Mingyu is totally drunk, and out of it. He couldn't remember anything, the next morning, waking up in the middle of a living room, on a couch he didn't recognize, he could only recall a few voices. It was hazy, and trying hard to remember it only made his blooming headache worse, so he called a taxi and went back to his dorm, with a couple of friends plus his roommate. On the way though, he realized that he lost the necklace when he wanted to roll the pendant between his fingers to somewhat soothe the headache and found none, not even a chain. _Fuck_.

Mingyu wobbled into his dorm, flopped onto his bed, and slept the whole day away. When he woke up later in the evening, he turned to light up the lamp by his bedside table and found the necklace curled neatly there, pendant intact, and glowing under the soft light of his lamp.

_(He remembered the voices. A man's, he was talking to him, because he said his name, but he didn't understand what he meant with his words._

_"Promise me, Mingyu, we'll find each other again" A pause "Won't we?")_

。。。。

At 23, Mingyu graduated college with top scores. And in the hassle of moving out of the dorms into an apartment he found near his soon to be office, he lost the pendant this time.

He has been moving a few times before, the dorm of his high school, the dorm of his college, but he has never lost the pendant, or the necklace. The chain has always been circling around his neck, and although light as feather, he could always feel the pendant hanging by his heart. But tonight, when he sat down and rested his body after a day of loading and unloading heavy boxes, he went to pick the pendant but reached nothing, even as he rolled the chain around his neck twice. He has never lost the pendant itself. He thought it was impossible, with how perfect it moulded to the chain, it should be totally broken or cut for the pendant to be able to slip out. 

Mingyu heaved out a long sigh. It has been a long day, and he needed sleep if he wanted to start working on his new apartment soon, before he started his job next week. So he retreated to his new bedroom, which had been firstly cleaned up and seemed comfier than the couch he sat on earlier. After a quick shower to scrub off the dusts from today's labour, he settled down on the new bed and curled into a night-sleep.

The next morning, he woke up as his alarm rang at 6:30, and reached an arm out to turn it off. As his palm roamed the bedside table to find his phone, he felt something stabbing into his skin and sat up, finding his lost pendant, attached to the chain, glowing golden under the sunlight peering in between the blinds. He stared at it until his alarm went off, and groggily woke up to wash his face. When he came back, the pendant still sat there, like it hasn't been lost at all.

_(Last night, he dreamt of a voice, that sounded like his own but he was sure he never said those words, nor did he know, the person he mentioned._

_"I promise you, Minghao." A pause. " I'll find you")_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oho, what's happening? pay attention, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, the story's still on. i'm a sole truster of happy endings, and with all the hardships the boys have been through?  
> i'm not that cruel😊
> 
> go rant on my [cc](https://curiouscat.qa/littlegirl28) or talk to me on [twt](http://twitter.com/littlegirl286)
> 
> next update will probably be on mon/tue. stay safe and love y'all!♡


	8. Lifts

_2021, Seoul, South Korea._

Waking up that day, Mingyu feels restless before he remembers the appointed interview at ten. As he waits for the water to boil before he gets to drink his signature chamomile tea, his mind flashbacks into how he gets the appointment in the first place.

It had been a two weeks since he decided to give up a job he's been doing for a year, all because he was accused with something he didn't even do. He knew who was behind all that accusation, but because that person's a senior that was rather very close with the boss, any attempt of defending himself would be futile. He'd rather not bring up too much ruckus than what's already there, and stepped down without a fuss. Said person who got him accused didn't even say anything when he came to office for the last time to submit his resignation letter. Not even a slight snicker, or an evil laugh _hahaha, you're nothing now, Kim Mingyu._ Weird, but well, he hadn't admit of committing any deed, and just explained simply in his letter that according to the latest happening, he won't have anything to say and instead, decided to take his leave permanently.

After that unfortunate event, Mingyu had not been actively searching for another job immediately. With the amount of stuffs he has done for the past year, he thought that he deserved a break. No more going home in middle of the night after taking care of exhausted teenagers going through their busy schedules. No more headaches, occasional scratches from crazy fans trying to touch their idols. Maybe Mingyu truly needed a break, and this is just how he's supposed to get it.

But then, on the third Tuesday when he managed to remind himself that he didn't need to wake up early to get somewhere as he didn't have anywhere to go, a friend from his previous work suddenly called. They exchanged a few hellos and how are yous, before the other asked about his job, because apparently Seungkwan worked with the boy group he used to work with the previous day and didn't see him around. Mingyu managed to humour him into asking the boys, before telling the truth, not the actual problem, just the fact that he resigned a week prior. His friend was shocked, obviously, because they worked together before and he couldn't remember how many times Seungkwan thanked him and hoped everyone he dealt with were like him. But then his next words shocked him too, almost as if he had pretended to not know Mingyu hasn't been working for like, sixteen days now.

_"I think I have a job opening for you. It's very legit, Mingyu"_

At first, Mingyu had wanted to deny and wave off the offer. He thought he needed a break, but was two weeks enough break? He thought about getting back to work, sleeping at ungodly hours, getting frustrated about the smallest things such as what to feed his artists, the physical wounds he had to endure, and so on. Despite his better judgement, he laughed off what Seungkwan had said and told him to send the details.

That noon on the same day, he received the email.

It was legit, he admitted. He's to work as a manager, for a newly debuted model-dancer _, is it even possible for someone to be that talented?_ Anyways, he matched the qualification well, if not a bit, over-qualified, but he had sent the application letter with a big smile not even an hour after. 

Obviously, he was surprised to find a reply just a few hours later with an attached time and place of where he should go for the interview.

So now, 15 minutes before ten, Mingyu straightens himself and fixes his hair on the rear-view of his car, parked at the basement of the building where he'll be answering questions in order to land him a new job. He reaches for the golden bow pendant on his chest, rolling it between his fingers unconsciously as he remembers what his mother said when she gifted it to him all those years ago. He had only been a small boy, yet the pendant seemed to follow him wherever he goes. He never lost it while he lost any other penchants as he moved about with his life.

_"A bow always comes with an arrow, Mingyu. And this is your bow. Someday, you'll find the arrow, and your life will be complete."_

。。。。

The interview ends well and Mingyu's buzzing with excitement. Of course, he's ecstatic to make a new fresh start! He's told that he can start as early as tomorrow, as he has to be familiar to the office and meet the talent he's supposed to manage _(is that even the right word? Well, he's his manager, right?)._

He goes down the lift and smiles to anyone he passes, the reception girl who led him up gives him a thumbs up which he replies with his own. He almost waltzes out of the building before he remembers, _crap_ , that he parked in the basement and he should have boarded the lift right through there, instead of stopping on the first floor. Stifling out a small inaudible laugh, he turned back to the lift silently, with luck that no one in the empty floor notices him. 

When the lift opens, he isn't expecting anyone to be in there. But when he meets eyes with the man, he feels something familiar tug at his heart, that left him standing for a few seconds he almost misses the doors closing. He's sure that he doesn't know him, and it's the first time they ever met, but the feeling in his chest is as familiar as his mother's home cooked meal, her chocolate chip cookie and warm milk on a rainy day. It feels like coming home, safe and sound, and another feeling he knows he should, but doesn’t recognize anyway. 

_(What he missed, when he went inside the lift, is how the man looked back behind his shoulder and pinched his brow looking at where Mingyu stood.)_

。。。。

The next day, he is met again with the same man. They're going up in the same lift today, and from the looks of it, they're heading for the same floor too.

The man is a few centimetres shorter than him, with brown fluffy hair, and a pair of sunglasses atop it. As they wait together inside the lift, the same feeling from yesterday began invading him again. Unconsciously, he reaches for his pendant and fiddles with it. For some reason, he feels uneasy. Then right when they are only a floor away from their destination, the lamp inside the lift suddenly goes off, and a jerk signals them that the car is stuck. _Shit._

"There should be an alarm button somewhere there" Mingyu spoke first, and is about to blindly reach the button panel before his hand hits something hard.

"First, we need light" The other said, brushing his shoulder, possibly the hard thing Mingyu hit with his arm earlier, and turns on the flashlight on his phone, lighting up the button panel.

"Sorry" He mutters, sheepishly for hitting him unintentionally. Even when he's 25, he's still clumsy.

"It's alright" The man mumbles. "Pressed the button. Help should come in a few"

"Does this happen often?" Mingyu asks before he can stop himself.

"Yeah it does" Surprisingly, the other answers him with a light chuckle. "The last few weeks. It must be something about the electricity"

Mingyu nods. They don't talk for a few more minutes, the flashlight on the other's phone still on, lighting up the small space they have.

"I hope you're not claustrophobic" The taller blurts again. _Stupid. What if he is?_

"I probably wouldn't survive the first time if I do" The brown-haired chuckles again.

"You've been stuck here too before?" He asks, looking at the other. When he looks up to meet his gaze, even with the minimum light he can see his pretty brown eyes.

"Yesterday" The man tells Mingyu. "But I was alone, then"

"Well, lucky you're not now" He says, before realizing how awkward that must sound.

"Maybe I would've been luckier if you didn't punch me on the shoulder" The other tells him with a small smile.

Before Mingyu can answer though, the lamp suddenly lights up again, and with a ding, the car lifts them up for a few moments before stopping and opening on the floor they were heading. Clearing his throat silently, he nods politely at the other and follows him out of the car. Looking back at the lift, Mingyu feels the uneasiness slips away, replaced with a new giddy feeling that probably connects with the fact that he's beginning his new job in a few seconds. Smiling to himself, he looks back forward and starts taking another step before bumping into someone.

"Wow I didn't know you're _very_ clumsy" It was the brown-haired man from before, looking at Mingyu amusingly as he mutters apologizes at him.

"I am so sorry" He sincerely says, holding himself from reaching out to fix the other's messy bangs. _What the hell Mingyu?_

"It's alright, lucky I weren't bringing a cup of coffee with me." The shorter smiles, warmly to him. "Are you new?"

"Umm yeah, it's my first day, actually." He stutters, still blushing furiously because it's only been a few minutes since he arrived here yet he already managed to unintentionally hit this man twice. Naturally, he says, "I'm Mingyu. Kim Mingyu."

"Mingyu?" The other knits his brows, looking at him. Just as he's about to say something else, someone comes out from a room nearby. Recognizing the person as Seungcheol, the one who interviewed him yesterday, he looks up expectantly only to find the man looking back at Mingyu with both his brows raised.

"Hey, Mingyu. Ah, I see you've met Minghao yourself then" His interviewer smiles broadly, stopping to stand between him and the brown-haired man. "So Hao, this is Kim Mingyu, your new manager. Mingyu, this is Xu Minghao."

Their gazes meet again after that, and again, he feels the familiar tug, like somehow he's supposed to recognize the shorter man, Xu Minghao, as he feels the name familiar but cannot really pinpoint how can that be when he has never had any Chinese friends before. _How does he know he's Chinese?_ Mingyu can't explain. He can only feel it, and he's about to fiddle with the pendant of his necklace before his raised hand is clasped in a firm handshake with the other's instead, warm against his palm, and slotting perfectly.

_"Mingyu"_

_"Minghao"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaand they're back! hurray!🙌🏻🙌🏻
> 
> thank you for reading everyone! will be back with a couple new chapters before we get to the ending after this:)))
> 
> aand while ur here, u can befriend me on [twt](http://twitter.com/littlegirl286) or go ask questions on my [cc](https://curiouscat.qa/littlegirl28) ;)


	9. Rest

"You have a radio show with Jeon Wonwoo tonight at 9 PM" Mingyu coughs, telling the younger as they head down to the parking lot. He's been having a lot of that lately, the coughing and sometimes runny nose. The cold weather doesn’t help either, with how busy he has been. He’ll just hope that he gets through the end of the week.

"Cancel that one" The Chinese man says, without looking up from his phone. With how focused he is on the object, the taller’s surprised he didn’t trip on his own feet.

"We can't. It's been decided weeks before" He sighs. In his sixth month of being his manager, Mingyu has learned that sometimes Minghao can be very difficult to deal with. While there are moments when their minds think alike, there are also many times that they argue because of the smallest things. For example last week, when he refused to eat on a tight schedule because the food prepared were only _naengmyeon_ s and he said _no, I don’t like cold food, Mingyu._ They had argued and Mingyu had to literally shove pieces of _naengmyeon’s_ beefs and vegetables in his mouth so at least his artist ate something before he went on a search for store bought _kimbap_ s.

"I'm tired, I still have to come to the company tomorrow morning for the meeting" The now silver-haired man says, opening the door to the car. "And then practice after that, including concepting. My brain will be fried" He runs a frantic hand through his hair, rolling his eyes as he gets inside.

"But it's an important radio show, Hao" Mingyu still tries to get some sense into his talent's head. "You agreed to that when Seungcheol-hyung mentioned it on the last meeting."

"It's just an impromptu guesting" Minghao shrugs, putting on his seatbelt as Mingyu steers them out of the parking lot. "I wouldn't have agreed if Seungcheol-hyung himself hadn't suddenly scheduled a meeting tomorrow morning.”

"Still" He shakes his head, racking his brain on anything else to say to make the younger attend his schedules. Okay, maybe it isn't a really important schedule, but a job is still a job. And he doesn't seemed that tired to him, aside from his occasional eye bags and frizzy hair, Minghao seems to be buzzing with energy and ready to perform a showstopper dance in his opinion. If he has to admit it, it's him that's a bit tired. He's been skipping meals and sleeping very late because of his talent's schedule. 

"Come on" The Chinese man talks again. “Wonwoo-hyung can attend it himself, he has his new drama to talk about. Or the surprise mixtape he’s working on.” He looks at him, their gaze meeting. "Besides, you said so yourself last meeting, my schedule's too packed."

"I know that-"

"Then just cancel that radio show." Minghao says, pressing on the play button of the radio, blasting their favourite playlist to listen to on short or long rides between schedules like now.

"Okay"

_(When they arrives at Minghao's house, the other waves and says something to him before disappearing behind his front doors._

_"Bye, Gyu. Get some rest!"_

_Mingyu sleeps well. His coughing and runny nose is better the next morning.)_

。。。。

Talking about crazy fans, Mingyu has had enough experiences with them. Before working with Minghao, he was a manager of a quiet well-known boy group for about a year. Their fanbase is moderately big, enough to have a crowd waiting for them at the airport whenever they land. In their every schedules, he’s used to being accidentally hit, scratched, or pushed over especially when those people crowd his artists without respecting their privacy, shoving their phones and cameras at the boys’ faces. He’s used to politely asking fans to move over at fansigns. He’s used to taking care of stray calls from _sasaeng_ s when the band had live streaming, and other problematic behaviours.

But this time, looking at the state of Minghao’s house, he’s 100% sure this is no work of a _sasaeng_. It looks like a typhoon hit the front lawn, messing all the plants, stones and whatever decoration the younger had there. The windows are broken, sharp pieces of glasses laying around they had to tip toe to get inside. The door? Locked, like how his artist left it that morning, but there are huge holes like somebody poked at it with a baseball bat. That’s not the worse though, because Mingyu caught the smell before he could spot the evident. Right as they step inside the threshold, the metallic scent of blood wafts through their noses.

“What the _fuck_?” Mingyu says out loud, covering his face with an arm. Where the shards of glasses lay, trails of animal blood stained the marble white floor. Only blood, no carcass or anything that could be the source of the foul stuffs. He looks around, and found Minghao crouched over a pool of red, eyes focused on something. “Hao?”

“It’s _him_.” The younger said, still looking down at the something in the middle of the blood. It looks like a huge chunk of rock, wrapped with a blank paper. Mingyu squints and sees that the paper actually isn’t blank, but written there with blood red ink, is Minghao’s full name, both in Chinese and Korean. Under that, like some kind of a sign, is drawn a small arrow in the same colour.

“Him who?” He questions. Who would do all these crazy things to Minghao? Wrote his name with red ink? That’s insane.

“It’s been two years. I thought I’ve really lost him.” Minghao scoffed, but his voice trembled. Mingyu manages to catch him as he stumbles in the process of standing up. His face is white as sheet, beads of cold sweat began lining his forehead.

“Minghao? Do you know who did these?” Despite the smell, he tries to focus on his artist who’s became as still as rock in front of him. He grips his shoulders, trying to get the shorter to talk. When calling him doesn’t work, he gently pulls him further inside the house. Apparently, the damage had only been done to the front lawn and door area, and it’s clean everywhere else, so he drags the younger to the living room and sat him down on the couch. Mingyu kneels and softly pats his cheeks with a palm, raising his eyes to look up at him. “Hao? Explain, please?”

“H-He was a senior, leader of the dance club back in uni. I was only a newbie there, but I’d shown some pretty awesome skills” Minghao stutters but smiles a little here, and it does reassure him that his friend is okay. “But we had some disagreements, and somehow everyone in the club sided with me. Since then, he’s been throwing stuffs at me, making sure my life is miserable, until he was eventually kicked out of the club for sabotaging a festival performance.” Mingyu vaguely remembers an identical story of a ruined performance in his college days, but he quickly dismisses it and sees the other letting out a big sigh, rubbing his left shoulder as he looks at his destroyed windows and lawn, “I thought I lost him when I trained and prepared for my debut. Well, looks like he found me again.”

After he finishes hearing the story, Mingyu stands up and reaches for his phone. Stupid, he knows he should’ve done that the moment he saw the mess. Who knows the culprit is still around? Hiding until he finds the right moment to strike at Minghao? But when he’s about to place the call, the younger stands up and puts his hands on top of his, effectively stopping him. Mingyu really has no time to blush from their close proximity, or how clear he can see Minghao’s brown eyes and counts his lashes if he wants to, because then a sound of another broken glass startles them. He decides to take no risk and takes the younger’s hand in his, dragging him right behind his body as he goes to check.

It came from the back garden. Another chunk of stone, with the same paper and red writings. This time, an actual arrow is attached to the stone. It looks like it’s been dipped in blood, the feathers dripping red on the floor. Despite the darkness, Mingyu looks around, scanning the garden through the broken glass doors. Praying that no one’s really there, he squeezes Minghao’s hand and walks back to the living room.

“We have to call the police” Mingyu said, pulling out his phone again.

“But-”

“Minghao, you’re literally getting death threats in your own house.” He told his artist. He sees the distress in the shorter’s eyes, that probably mirrors the one in his. It’s not safe to linger. They have to get out of there soon. “Come on”

He took the other’s hand again, pulling him across the mess at the front of his house and back inside the car. Navigating them clear out of the area, Mingyu makes sure he takes the most confusing route and steers them to a crowded street. Minghao’s silent along the way, but his hands are trembling and eyes alert. He wishes he could take them in his, to maybe calm his nerves, but he isn’t sure the other will welcome the gesture.

Once they’re sure nobody’s following or sneaking around them, Mingyu pulls over at a random sidewalk to finally call the police. He informs the agency after that, reporting straight to Seungcheol, making sure the case is well handled without having to expose anything to the media as per Minghao’s request. He knows the younger is feeling restless and jittery in the car, but he’s not letting him out of his sight for even a moment.

“Any hotel works for me.” Minghao tells him after he begins driving again. He steals a glance at him and notices his calmed expression. He looks better, more relaxed now. Mingyu sighs in relief.

“It’s too dangerous to be on your own, Seungcheol-hyung said” He says, turning to the familiar neighbourhood of his apartment.

“Then where did he suggest I sleep tonight? The Company?” The other scoffed.

“It’s not as luxurious compared to your house, but my apartment’s probably the safest place for now” He says it all in one breath. At first Seungcheol did tell him to bring Minghao to the Company, because it’s got its own security system and is the easiest choice for safety. Hearing that, Mingyu didn’t know what went through him but he quickly waved off the choice and offered his apartment instead. He even continued to assure Seungcheol that there are CCTV’s everywhere in the building, and that most importantly, Minghao won’t be alone. Surprisingly enough, Seungcheol immediately agreed and told them to hurry as it’s already very late.

。。。。

Minghao is silent along the way from the car and inside the lift. He didn’t even react or say anything after the older told him how Seungcheol originally wanted him to stay at the company’s building. As he scans his residence card and presses the button to where his floor is, he feels the familiar tug in his heart, also with a sense of deja-vu from the first time they met inside their office’s lift. Looking sideways at the other man, he cringes a little remembering that moment, how he manages to be very clumsy even on the first day of work.

“Welcome.” Mingyu says, opening the door wide for the younger. He hesitates a bit, before looking up and exchanges a little smile with the manager, and goes inside the apartment. As he said before, it isn’t luxurious like Minghao’s home, but it’s very cosy, to him at least. 

“That’s the bathroom, my room, and a guest bedroom. Living room and kitchen’s through this hallway and to the left. There’s a small balcony right by the kitchen, though I rarely open them at night.” He announces, flipping all the lights on. He tells Minghao to leave his shoes and on the rack, along with his overcoat on the hanger, and asks him if he wants to use the bathroom first.

“If it’s okay with you, I’d really like to wash my face off these make ups.” His artist says, the tiredness evident in his voice

“Well go on, then. I’ll go get you some clothes.” He nods, ruffling the shorter’s raven-hair and shooing him in the direction of his bathroom.

Going inside his room, Mingyu rummages through his closet, looking for the smallest t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants he has when his stomach suddenly rumbles. Oh right, he realizes, they haven’t had any dinner yet. So after changing out of his jeans, he then knocks shortly on the bathroom door, slipping the clothes on the space beside the sink, and shouts at the other to get the clean towel and toothbrush in the cupboard by the mirror. Without waiting for an answer, he goes to the kitchen, and starts looking for anything quick he can prepare. 

Looking inside the fridge, he sighs in relief finding out he still has some leftover side dishes from yesterday. Not too many, but he figures it’ll be enough to share between the both of them. If any of them is still hungry, they can easily order something, anyways. So he puts the rice to cook and re-heats the foods, before remembering that he should probably tidy up the guest bedroom Minghao will be sleeping in tonight.

。。。。

When he got the apartment about 2 years ago, the unit had came with all the furniture, including the bed on the guest bedroom. His dad thought it’d be better if he get rid of it and transform the room into his office, but Mingyu disagreed. He thought back then, why not have a bed in his office? Well with his job, it turns out that he rarely uses the room as a workroom or study. Sometimes, when he’s too tired to bathe but doesn’t want to dirty his bed, he crashes there until he wakes up in the middle of the night (or almost morning) and cleans himself before relocating to his original bedroom. The bed also proves to be useful when he has his sister, or any friends over.

“Here’s where I’ll sleep tonight?” A voice distracts his thoughts as he pulls the blanket from the wardrobe. Minghao enters the room, sitting on the edge of the bed. Even his smallest t-shirt looks so big on him, the sleeves reaching his elbows. His hair is still wet, with the towel hanging around his neck, Mingyu can smell a the faint scent of his shampoo.

“Yeah, it’s a single bed though, you alright with that?” He asks genuinely. He hadn’t actually thought about that.

“Oh, I don’t mind.” The younger smiles, accepting the pillows from his hands. He drowns his face in the fluffy materials, before slightly looking up and smiles with his eyes at the older. “Thanks, Gyu.”

“Don’t mention it” He laughs, restraining his hands from reaching out to ruffle the other’s damp hair. And before he loose control and actually does anything more embarrassing, like squealing at the Chinese’s cuteness or pinching his puffed cheeks, he hears a click from the kitchen, signalling the finished rice. “Oh, that’s our cue. Come on!”

“What?” Minghao knitted his brows at him, still sitting on the bed, he pouts while hugging the pillows tighter in his arms.

“Dinner!” Mingyu answers from outside the door, before he backtracks and slips his head in the gap between the wall and the door, looking at his artist. “Aren’t you hungry?”

_(That night, he dreams of a sunny day at a wide green-grassed field. Ahead of him, he sees round circular objects that looks like huge target practices for darts. And he hears a familiar voice right before he’s startled awake by a knock on his door._

_"I can still beat you in a sword match with one good shoulder”)_

。。。。

When Mingyu first sees him that morning, he knows something's wrong.

"Are you sure you're okay?" He asks, before they get out of the car.

"Yeah, I am" The younger nods, wiping his nose with a tissue. His nose is red, Mingyu notes, and his lips are more chapped than usual. His complexions are not good either. "It's just a cold"

"Well just tell me in case you feel unwell" Mingyu ends his sentence by ruffling the other's maroon hair. His black roots is beginning to show, after a month or so dyeing it maroon for the cameo project he had. And because he’s already dragged his mask up to his nose, Mingyu cannot see the unmistakable blush spreading through the Chinese man's cheeks.

A few hours later, Mingyu checks on the younger before he goes to buy them a late lunch and some medicine for his cold. He's pressing his palm against Minghao's forehead and feels warmth, warmer than he's supposed to be. He's about to ask him how he feels before the younger suddenly falls against his chest. Mingyu even has no time to feel embarrassed because he needs to get help as soon as possible. Minghao's even paler than before, and it's clear his fever has made him dizzy for a few moments before he collapsed.

The staffs around him are fortunately quick to call an ambulance, as he places the younger on the nearest couch they had for the photoshoot. Mingyu deliberately checks for his pulse, and finding it stable, he brushes the hair out of his forehead. He's sweating buckets. 

A few moments later, he hears the siren and an EMT rushing in with a stretcher. He's about to follow the nurses wheeling Minghao out of the building, before noticing something on the black couch. It's a necklace, with a golden pendant. It wasn't there when he placed the younger before, so it must belonged to him and somehow fell off when he was being taken away. Mingyu pockets it and ran to get to his car, driving at the fastest speed to reach the hospital.

Mingyu arrives at the same time the ambulance wheels Minghao inside the ER. He rushes inside after parking, and is guided by a nurse to meet a doctor at the lobby. The doctor tells him that after the other is stable enough, he'll be moved to a recovery room on the fifth floor.

_"He's over exhausted, possibly from forcing his energy and lack of resting, which affects his immunity thus resulting in the cold and fever. And then it seems that he's also dehydrated, probably from sweating a lot, and that made him dizzy and lost his consciousness earlier."_ The doctor explains. _"We already administered an IV, and he's resting now. He'll probably wake up in a bit, but if he doesn't, and as long as his heart monitor is stable, let him rest."_

Mingyu nods and thanks the older man, just as he sees nurses wheeling Minghao outside the ER, which brings a huge relief out of him. He asks the nurse for his room number, before backtracking to the front desk to take care of the administration.

。。。。

When Mingyu came in half an hour later, the younger is still sleeping soundly. He's no longer wearing the deep maroon sweater from before, instead a plain hospital gown replaces it. The IV is still dripping, and a thin blanket is covering half his body. He's still pale, but at least the colours are slowly coming back to his complexion. And most importantly, he's resting.

_He's over exhausted,_ he recalls what the doctor said earlier. Mingyu remembers their late schedule yesterday. He came home at half past 2 in the morning, and with the short distance between his apartment and Minghao's house, it means he dropped him off at 2 something. He noticed the younger's tired gaze and slowed movements, but because this isn't the first time, he thought they could push through with one last schedule today and get the weekend off for him. Well as it turned out, it didn't go as what he planned. 

He thinks it's partly his fault too, for not getting them the lunch break on time, and letting his artist overwork himself. He should've stopped and cancelled the schedule when he saw him this morning, but the latter was persistent, and he could never go against a persistent Minghao. Mingyu sighed, and bringing a chair, he sat close to the younger's bed.

He's emptying his pockets, putting his wallet, keys and phones (and Minghao's) on the bedside table when his hand finds something unfamiliar. He pulls it out, and recognizes the chain as Minghao's necklace that fell off earlier. He runs his fingers on the pendant, golden and shaped like a small arrow, that seemed to glow prettily under the faded sunset light through the windows. He’s seen the younger wore it before, but he’s never realized it’s an arrow shape. Or that it bears a striking resemblance to something of his own.

"Did it reappear at the bedside table?" A small voice interrupts his train of thoughts. Minghao's awake. He helps him sat up a bit straighter on the bed, propping the pillows behind his back.

"How you feeling?" He asks, worry laced through his words.

"Thirsty" The other answers honestly. Mingyu immediately remembers the bottled water he bought at the cafeteria downstairs, and gives it to him, who sips almost all of it in one go.

"Better?" He asks again, making sure.

"A bit, yeah" The younger nods. His complexion is surely better now. "A lot better than this noon. What happened?"

"You passed out, remember?" He informs his artist, filling in how the ambulance arrived and got him here. He explained a bit what the doctor had told him "I'm sorry, I should've cancelled today's schedule and make you get some rest."

"It's alright" Minghao nods weakly. His gaze is not trained on his face, and when he follows it, it lands on the pendant that's still in his hand.

"Oh, it fell when you were brought out earlier. Found it on the couch" He puts the necklace in his artist's palm. The latter accepts it, and begins to fiddle the pendant in between his thumb and forefinger. The gesture looks familiar to him.

"Weird" The silver-haired man knits his brows. Mingyu asks him to elaborate. "Usually, if I lost it, it would just appear anywhere close. It's the first time someone actually found and brings it back to me."

Hearing the familiar explanation, Mingyu remembers his very own necklace, the one his mother gave him when he was ten. "I have a necklace like that too" He reaches out to touch the pendant, before remembering that he left it on the dashboard of his car in this morning's rush.

"Really?" The younger man questions, his eyes big with interest. Mingyu is about to respond to that, ready to explain about his treasured jewellery in detail before he's interrupted with a knock on the door, followed by a nurse coming in, bringing a tray of dinner for Minghao.

Because Minghao has to stay in until at least the final check up tomorrow morning, after making sure he eats his dinner Mingyu excuses himself to go and fetch some fresh clothes for both of them. It’s already very late when he comes back, and the younger is already sleeping, curled on his side where it faced the chair he sat on earlier. 

Stepping silently across the room, Mingyu places the bag of clothes on the bedside table, before realizing instead of one golden necklace, there's two, and the other one is his bow shaped pendant, one he was sure he left in his car. The necklaces lay there neatly next to each other, glowing under the light of the small lamp on the table. Shaking his head, he turns off the lamp and makes himself comfortable on the chair facing Minghao.

  
_(He's awaken by a weird familiar voice the next morning, but when he opens his eyes, Minghao is still sleeping, and one of his hands is intertwined with his own._

_"What do you mean you're not trustworthy? You're my most trusted friend, Kim Mingyu.”)_

。。。。

Mingyu wakes up with a weird feeling that day. He wakes up on time, even before his alarm rings, but when he’s about to turn on the shower and bathe, no water comes out. He checks with his landlord, who promises to get it done in just a few minutes which then turns out to be half an hour. It’s okay, he thinks, he woke up too early anyways. But apparently running water isn’t the only problem. 

Mingyu’s usually very handy and careful with his kitchen stuffs, but this morning, he manages to destroy his one and only blender by _accidentally_ dropping a tea spoon while making his banana and honey smoothie. The blender lurches twice, explodes, and splatters crushed bananas all over the counter, walls, and his refrigerator. Breakfast ruined, and so he spends another thirty minutes cleaning the room spotless.

After squeezing a last minute shower and hurried clothes picking, he’s running to the parking lot, before realizing his empty pockets, void off any car keys. He also forgets to wear his necklace, but as he goes back, the jewellery is nowhere he left it. Thinking it’s not really important, Mingyu sprints to his car after taking the keys. And of course, this time he forgets his bag. Rushing back in, he makes sure he doesn’t forget anything else and runs back to his half parked car.

Fortunately, the street aren’t as busy as usual. Well, save for the amount of red-lights he has to pass, he manages to safely arrive just five minutes after 9, all because of the commotion in front of his office building. At first he thought there’s been an accident, but instead of ambulances, there are reporters everywhere, crowding the front gate. He wonders about that as he passes them, because as long as he remembers, there aren’t any press conferences scheduled for today.

When he’s about to enter the company’s basement, he’s startled by a ringing coming from his phone. Mingyu takes a little glance at the screen, registering the name Seungcheol and shudders. The first time he’s late after a year working here, and Seungcheol’s probably mad that he is. A bit odd though, because the older never contacts him unless it’s emergency. Last time he called was a month ago, when he had to remind Mingyu about a sudden meeting with the publicist team.

And he’s about to call back, when a notification from Naver’s news portal catches his full attention.

_[BREAKING]_

_Model-Dancer Xu Minghao and fellow label mate Actor Jeon Wonwoo are Reportedly Dating._

His bow necklace slipped from the dashboard, falling onto his lap.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a long one! to compensate the long delay, sorry, aaand i used to hate cliffhangers when i read, but now, as a writer, i do understand the thrill of it.
> 
> sorry guys, and see you on the next chapter! (yes, it isn’t the ending yet)
> 
> here, go rant about this chapter on my [twt](http://twitter.com/littlegirl286) or [cc](https://curiouscat.qa/littlegirl28) ;)


	10. Dumb

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning: may contain cheesy materials. read at your own risks♡

It is the third day after hearing that news, and Mingyu hasn't dared to open any newspapers or news portals. He simply cannot handle that. If the mere rumour managed to hurt him this much, he can't imagine hearing the confirmed statement, press conferences, and other articles proving that _yes, the famous model-dancer Xu Minghao is dating a fellow actor Jeon Wonwoo._ He can't.

The moment he heard about the news, he didn't know why, but his heart hurts so much. It's like losing a piece of him he never knew he has. He's hurting. And when his emotional state is unstable, he makes impulsive decisions. He emailed the agency and asked for an emergency leave back to Anyang, making excuses about his sister giving birth or something, he doesn't really remember now, and even created a resignation letter he planned to submit by the end of the week. He didn't care if his emergency leave got denied and he lost his job again, he just wants to distance himself from Minghao as much as he can right now.

 _Minghao_.

But the more he tries to forget him, the more he invades his memory. 

He remembers their first meeting. How they awkwardly got trapped in a stuck lift together, and he even managed to clumsily hit other twice. Their first fight and arguments. They were discussing about a particular schedule that Minghao didn’t want to attend, but Seungcheol had reminded him before to push the younger into doing it. They didn’t talk for two days after that, nothing outside the professional texts on work stuffs, before Minghao cornered him after a meeting to apologize.

The first time they became more than just acquaintances, but friends to each other. They found out that they’re actually quiet similar, in the way they think, and some of their favourite things to do. They would converse for hours, forgetting the time as their topics varied from the simplest thing as daily routines to some painting theories. The first time they made the enjoyable playlist for rides in between schedules. It was easy, as they had matching preference in music too. 

The first time Mingyu truly cared about his well-being because he's his friend, not just his client. The first time Minghao told him the funny stories from his childhood in China. The other had shown him some pictures from his phone, and if Mingyu didn’t think he’s the cutest little boy in the world, then he’s _really_ lying to himself. 

_The first time he felt the familiar tug in his heart when they first met_.

 _That's it, I’ve gone crazy,_ he thinks. Shaking his head, he turns on his heels, taking himself home. This time, he doesn't bump on anyone. But he recognizes the familiar figure standing by the monkey bars, in his usual brown coat, and bright, beautiful smile. He abruptly stops and gasped in silence. Abandoning every logic his brain tries to tell him, Mingyu runs. He pulls the other into his embrace, inhaling the familiar scent before he suddenly pulls himself back, making some space between them. But, he doesn't get very far because Minghao's holding to his arm tightly.

"What do you want" He asks, tone flat. Despite that, he doesn’t pull his hand from the other’s grasp.

"What?" The younger knits her brows. Mingyu sees that he's still wearing his necklace, the golden arrow. His own bow dug achingly into the skin of his palm. And when their gazes meet, the same tug he feels when he first saw him fills his heart again. He takes a deep breath, trying to settle himself.

"Why do you have to make it so hard for me?" He blurts, unable to hold it anymore. With the other so close to him, the urge to just hug him again is very strong.

"What are you talking about?" He's giving him that one _'What kind of nonsense are you saying now?'_ The look he used to give him the first times they work together. _Oh shit_. All the memories flows back, hurting him more.

"You should go back," He says, bracing himself for the next words so he doesn't growl saying the name. "Wonwoo's probably searching for you."

There's a short pause, that seems like years to him as he’s holding himself not to cry on the spot. Much less in front of him. But then Minghao speaks again, and boy he wishes he doesn't.

"You did not read the news, didn't you?" His eyes are big, searching for answers in his own. When he notices Mingyu looking at his arrow shaped pendant, the younger unconsciously reaches and fondles it in his hand.

"Why should I? It only brings me pain." He scoffs, doesn't bother to hide his feeling anymore, then adds in a small voice, "Seeing you here, too."

Then he feels the other letting go of his arm. He lets out a sigh, he only has to survive this, and never see him again. It _fucking_ hurts, but he’ll deal with that later. He's about to submit the resignation letter, anyways.

"Then you should have." He wants to go, badly, before he hears Minghao's next sentence. "At least that way you'd know the news about Wonwoo-hyung and Jun-hyung."

" Wonwoo-hyung and Jun-hyung?" He asks, confused. What now? What does any news about _Wonwoo_ or _Jun_ have to do with him? He even barely knows the latter, what with him being an artist from another company. But then what the other says next stops his train of thoughts immediately.

"Their engagement" He says, a hint of amusement clear on his face. He usually matches that expression whenever they're together back then. But now, he's not even sure what to feel.

"What?" He decides to summarize all the questions in his head. Not the smartest word, he’ll admit, but he's just very confused on what to say when he sees the younger smiling, rather brightly, at him. _Oh how much has he missed that smile._

"I didn't know you're _that_ dumb, Mingyu."

And Minghao kisses him.

It was only a peck, nothing more. A slight sneak peak of what he knows now is in the raven-haired heart, his way of showing his bottled up feelings. But Mingyu wants more. He _craves_ for more. So when the younger pulls off and distances themselves once more, he dives in instead, chasing his sweetness, claiming them. And Mingyu never wants to let go, not ever again.

_(“So the news was a scam?”_

_“I was blackmailed, Mingyu!”)_

  
。。。。

"How did you find me here?" Mingyu asks, still holding to his hand, as if he lets go, he'll suddenly disappear.

"Seungcheol told me about your emergency leave request" Minghao says, happiness evident in his eyes, as he traces the older’s face with his nimble fingers.

"I'm sorry" He says, closing his eyes before reaching out for his pendant. He picks the arrow and rolls it between his fingers the way he rolls his bow. Taking his bow from his own chain, he pieces them together with a click.

"You shouldn't be" He sighs, looking fondly at the completed bow and arrow in Mingyu's hand. The pendants glow faintly under the evening light. Beautiful, he thinks, as he raises his head to look at the younger man in the eyes. Yes, _beautiful_ indeed.

"Are you going back tonight?" He asks, insecure. He’s supposed to be the responsible one here, even more with that trouble maker college rival managed to blackmail Minghao through a dating rumour. He has no idea how the stupid guy did it, but the fact that the news made it into the front page of so many news portals, it must’ve caused a lot of ruckus back in the office. He’s the freaking manager, yet here he is, being chased by his own artist to his hometown. All because of his stupid impulsiveness. He’s lucky Minghao decided to come here and look for him. If not, then he won’t even know where he’ll end up.

"Do you want me to?" The younger lets go of him and asks instead, locking their gazes together. He can see his emotions clearly there. He notices his sincerity, along with something else like, insecurity. Like he isn’t sure of what he’s doing. Like he’s afraid he’s expecting too much. Mingyu doesn’t like that. Minghao and insecurities is _not_ to be associated together. _Never_.

"No" He answers immediately. Taking both the other’s hands back in his hold, his words are barely above whispers as he says, "Please stay"

"Then I will" He sees Minghao smiles as he remembers his mother’s words again.

_("A bow always comes with an arrow, Mingyu. And this is your bow. Someday, you'll find the arrow, and your life will be complete."_

_“How do I find this arrow, Mum? And how will it complete my life?”_

_“That’s for you to figure out later, dear.”)_

。。。。

**Epilogue**

Sitting here in front of the television in one of Anyang’s most expensive hotels, Mingyu still feels like he’s dreaming.

Less than an hour ago, he was trying to get a peace of mind, by strolling mindlessly through his childhood playground. Obviously, it didn’t do him any better than when he was at home, talking with his parents, helping his mother cook. Even his arrival had been a shock to the family, when he showed up unannounced at the front door, eyes bloodshot and nose half clogged (he blamed the chilly weather when his mother asked). But as his thoughts went by, and he reminisced the moments he spent with Minghao, said man suddenly appeared out of nowhere, all smiley and innocent, totally clueless about his internal turmoil.

Then the confession happened. Well, not really a confession on his end, because he was just standing there being dumb while Minghao got all giggly seeing him frustrated. He had so many questions, so many words he wanted to ask, but he thought his brain short circuited the moment he saw the younger smile, the prettiest, most wonderful smile in the world after he delivered the most important news to him. _Yes, Kim Mingyu is totally whipped for Xu Minghao._

And yes, Kim Mingyu is also probably the stupidest human for pulling a dramatic runaway instead of staying back and help the younger deal with the rumours. Minghao told him the office had been quick to deny the scandal, instead averted it by revealing the news of Wonwoo’s engagement instead. The latter didn’t mind, in fact he saw this as an opportunity to finally go public with his relationship. And speaking about that, Mingyu didn’t even realize, even when the younger pointed out how many times the other couple flaunted their relationship in front of them, sometimes subtly teasing them on their own ambiguous one. Wonwoo’s fiancé Jun said Mingyu is oblivious. Well, maybe he is. Luckily, it seemed like fate isn’t done with the both of them yet.

"You got this from your parents when you were ten?" Mingyu asks him, still fondling the now completed bow and arrow in his hands. He remembers the way they clicked earlier. Like they were originally one piece, but were broken apart to be made into two pieces of jewellery. A set.

"Yeah, that arrow" The younger says, as he washes his face in the bathroom. He left the door ajar, and from here, he can still see Minghao’s black tufts of hair from the mirror's reflection. "I didn't know what it meant other than that it's just ethereally beautiful, but mother said I'll figure them out later in life."

"My mum said that too" He says. Not the entire truth, but at least that's about what she told him, right? "And the pendant has been with me for so long, even when my other ones got lost."

Even then, he can’t shake the feeling that this necklaces are more than just family inheritance. He’s sure there’s a whole backstory to these bow and arrow shaped pendants. Something ancient, powerful, and familiar. Something close to his heart. Something about a promise. _Oh, where does that thought comes from?_

"Ooh that happens too" Minghao comes out of the bathroom, picking up the TV remote before settling beside him on the small couch. He looks so cute now, all soft and bare-faced, wearing the black silk pyjama, the one they bought together a few months ago. “Remember that one time I told you at the hospital? Whenever I lost it, I'd always find it again at the bedside table when I wake up"

That was the first time they found out about each other’s pendants too. He had been mildly surprised seeing the arrow pendant that looked almost identical with his bow. The jewelleries has the same golden glow to it, and when Minghao told a few stories of how it appeared and disappeared, he had that weird feeling that somehow, both their pendants are connected. Well today, he is finally able to confirm it.

"My mum said that a bow always comes with an arrow. And this is my bow. Someday, I'll find the arrow, and my life will be complete." He decides to recite exactly what his mother had said, that night at his tenth birthday. Sometimes, when he has nothing to do, he’d usually fiddle with his pendant and wondered about those words. He had asked her mother a few times, but her answers were always vague, and she’d divert the conversation to talk about other things. Weird, but Mingyu has managed to live with it disappearing and coming back for the last fourteen years, so he didn't think too much about it. At least not until he met the other, and found out they have matching necklaces.

He looks over at Minghao now, and finds the latter already looking back at him with so much love, he doesn't think he really deserves all that. _He must’ve saved a kingdom in his previous life to be this lucky._

"Well, had your mother been right, then?" The younger asks, leaning closer into Mingyu's space as he presses the red button on the remote, turning on the television. Through their connected gaze, Mingyu can feel the adoration they have for each other. Their feelings grew as their relationship developed. He remembers all the sincere smiles, subtle touches, and caring words they exchanged. He understands them now. And cherishes them all dearly. 

"Oh, yes she has" He smiles, meeting him halfway, as they ignore whatever movie decides to play.

Somehow, with how they are connected through the pendants, he thinks that maybe, just maybe, they were really lovers in their past life. And in this lifetime, they’ve manage to find each other again. Finally completing the promises they made in the past. 

A tug at his heart tells him that he's _absolutely_ right. 

_Mingyu has completed his promise._

_。。。。_

**_The End_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oho it has finally come to an end! ☆^(o≧∀≦)o
> 
> This story took me a month to write because I was procrastinating a lot, and I didn’t want to upload before finally completing it. Even then, I still found myself editing and rewriting some parts as I updated them here^^
> 
> But at last, I reaaallyyy want to thank each and every one of you who has been reading, giving kudos, bookmarking and commenting. Thank you for being interested in my first ever chaptered fic, it means a lot! I have nothing more to say for now, but in the future, I hope I can make more stories and writings that you guys can enjoy!
> 
> Aaand if you have any questions about this or any other of my stories, or maybe u just want someone to talk to, go hmu on [twt](http://twitter.com/littlegirl286) or go anon on my [cc](https://curiouscat.qa/littlegirl28)   
> I don’t bite! Promise!
> 
> Love y’all!  
> lili♡


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